In a recent study, the use of anifrolumab in SLE patients was shown to be safe and effective, enabling some patients to decrease their oral steroids. Also, secukinumab has been approved in Europe to treat ankylosing spondylitis and psoriatic arthritis…
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Apremilast is effective in patients with difficult to treat psoriasis of the scalp and nails, according to long-term results of two phase 3 trials. Investigators had previously reported 16-week data from the Efficacy and Safety Trial Evaluating the Effects of Apremilast in Psoriasis (ESTEEM) 1 and 2 trials. The new report includes…
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Obese patients with psoriasis or psoriatic arthritis are apt to experience significant symptomatic relief following bariatric surgery, according to a new chart review. Specifically, the study found that more than half of the patients with psoriasis or psoriatic arthritis reported improvements in their disease following surgery. Dr. Soumya Reddy, assistant professor of…
In a global Phase 3 trial, subcutaneous secukinumab proved safe and effective in patients with psoriatic arthritis. Also, a version of aspartyl-alanyl diketopiperazine, a biologic for knee OA, has entered Phase 3 trials…
A Phase 3 study found secukinumab may be an effective alternative to anti-TNF therapies for treating psoriatic arthritis, suggesting interleukin 17A may play a role in the disease…
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis are associated with an increased risk of migraine, according to new research from Denmark. “The main finding of our study was a psoriasis severity-dependent increased risk of new-onset migraine, and patients with severe skin psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis appeared to have the highest risk,” Dr. Alexander Egeberg from…
Antibody-like molecules that can bind to more than one target—with the goal of having a more powerful effect than if those targets were treated separately in a combination of therapies—could become part of treatment regimens in rheumatic diseases over the next several years, an expert said here in a session at EULAR 2015, the annual…
(Reuters)—Drug developer XenoPort Inc. said on Tuesday its experimental drug was effective in treating psoriasis, sending its shares up 19% in premarket trading. The oral drug met the main goal in a phase 2 trial of patients with moderate-to-severe chronic plaque-type psoriasis, the company said. XenoPort said it expected to start late-stage trials next year…
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Two classes of inflammatory diseases, uveitis and psoriatic disease, appear linked, as a diagnosis of one increases the risk of developing the other, new research has found. A study of Danish patient registries found nearly triple the rate of uveitis among patients with psoriatic arthritis compared to the general population, and double…
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Various organizations recommend dozens of screening and monitoring tests for patients with psoriasis or psoriatic arthritis who are using systemic biologic agents, despite sparse evidence to support any of them. “At a population level, these medications have proven to be very safe and the evidence does not support such extensive and frequent…